A friend of mine told me that Bill Gates yacht may be in Bonaire, does anyone know if this is true,or maybe one of you has had him help you with your windows program. Would be nice to see a photo of his mega-yacht.
Terry

Who?

Terry,

Last time this "rumor" went around, it was almost on the money, but not quite. The mega-yacht belonged to Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft with Bill Gates, but someone who has not been involved in running Microsoft for many years. Paul Allen owns the Seattle Seahawks (or some other Seattle sports team), TicketMaster, Vulcan Ventures, and is part of a number of other quite successful ventures (and a few not so successful). He's worth a nice chunk of change (in the billions), but nearly nearly so much as Gates. Apparently Allen has his crew bring the boat to his destination, and then he flies in to live on it. Last time, it was also rumored that Bill Gates came to visit with Paul Allen (no idea if this is true or not, but the source was reasonably reliable).

So, it's possible Paul Allen's yacht is back in port again...

Jake

Was that the yacht we saw Feb 99 -- had a helicopter on the back? Not much makes me envious of other people, but I could have lusted for that!

Could be, but there are several other megayachts that have visited Bonaire in the nearly 4 years we've been living here, including a couple with helicopters.

Jake

I don't know who's it was but friends tell me it was quite impressive. All white included a catamaran, two power boats, a helicopter, several jet skis, etc., etc. Nobody I spoke with knew the boat's name. It sounds bigger than Paul Allen's.

Just got the scoop via the Bonaire reporter.

The yacht was the Tatoosh. 305 feet long.
28 crew and only 7 passengers
Owned by billionaire Craig McCaw

I'm sorry, but somehow this craft just does NOT seem to be the "image" of our lovely, down to earth Bonaire........maybe I am just jealous, but I don't think I would enjoy peering up from the water and sighting a boat the size of a football field! Am I alone on this one? Anyone else care to comment.......get a load of the ratio of crew to passengers....all it takes is money, I guess. But, are they REALLY happy!!?? LOL.. Carole

PS Linda: I certainly hope they are aware they cannot use their jetskis in the waters of Bonaire....any rulings on "visiting" jetskis and the ban now in place??? Just curious. cb

I'm with you Carole (especially about the jetskis --- I HATE those suckers!).

I get so much pleasure from quiet times with my honey, that I just can't see that crew to passenger ratio being much fun. A whole different way to live, but not one I think I'd want to get used to. Now, one hand-maiden might be nice!? (smirk).Plus unlimited vacation time and tickets to all my favorite places ... THAT I could get used to.

Carole and Josie, you've got to read about the man who ows the megayacht. I think you'll be surprised -- not a typical story. If you don't subscribe to the Bonaire Reporter, it's really great to read. Maybe I will email you the copy. I think I will refrain from republishing their copy here without permission, as I have presumed to do before. Just a preference..

Hi, Niki! I do subscribe to the Bonaire Reporter but have not had a chance to read this issue as yet. I will make a point of reading up on the fellow. Three hundred feet IS a bit much, however! Thanks for the tip and the offer, tho. Carole

As Niki mentioned, the man who owns the yacht has an interesting story.

For our eco-conscious group, he and his wife are members of Seakeeper Society which is an ocean monitoring project. http://www.seakeepers.com/ for more info.

Nothing much lately about jet skis. They are definitely not allowed in Lac Bay due to the sea grass beds/shallow water and the windsurfers. The local jet skis (maybe 2-4) that caused concern at Regatta 1999 behaved themselves during Regatta 2000. I haven't heard of recent problems with them either.

On another note, the four-wheeler ATVs that someone started to rent out has been closed down by the government and its owner. I haven't gotten the full scoop but there seems to be a disagreement over the business permit and control over under age drivers. The environmental groups and many tourists were greatly concerned about the impact on the turtle nesting beaches and inland areas as well.

Niki, I don't subscribe to Bonaire Reporter (yet), so I'd appreciate it if you'd email me a copy of the article you mentioned.

Linda, that's good news about the ATVs. I hope the jetskis continue to not be a problem. Thanks for the link to Seakeepers. I'll look forward to checking it out.

Josie, I sent the story by email a little while ago. Interesting, no?

Hi, folks,
I plan to visit Bonaire from July through October this year on my 42' sailing catamaran, s/v Vinga. If anyone could share information on the marina, I'd be very appreciative.
I'm a retired scuba instructor, and now spend some of my time painting pictures of coral scenery. The rest of my minutes go to keeping the boat afloat, and diving with my little camera.
Cheers,
.
Melissa Keyes
s/v Vinga
St. Croix, USVI

Bill Gates doesn't own a mega-yacht. We provide medical support for Paul Allen's yachts. He owns a few, which are for hire to private parties. One (the biggest) is permanently based in the Caribbean. He keeps his own (Medusa-62 meter)in the Puget Sound area most of the time. Last time we sent a nurse to staff the boat it was in the Mediterranean. Allen wasn't on it. It has a small helicopter, a ski boat, two jetskis and a recording studio (sort of). He lets it to friends. Allen recently ordered the largest privately owned Yacht afloat. Some say it's over 100 meters long.

BTW Craig McCaw, Paul Allen and a fellow named Wayne Perry are partners in a satellite internet company venture called Teledesic. They may have been justifying the trip to the area as a tax writeoff, while "researching" available service.
Or maybe discussing how they will be crewing for the 2003 Americas Cup, since Paul Allen invested $10,000,000.00 in McCaws bid to win it just so he could ride along.